A new president has taken the reins of the Winkler and District Chamber of Commerce.
Hank Froese took his oath as president at Thursday's annua Chamberl meeting and business lunch, taking over from Keith Gislason who will be staying on the board as past president.
Froese joined the Chamber board four years ago to represent the manufacturing sector, and says working with the board has been an excellent experience. "I really enjoyed working with the board, the staff, and the business community, and learning (about) the different businesses in the area, and the people." Froese said being 'semi-retired' now, he has more additional time to give, and he's looking forward to engaging even more as president to see what kind of contribution he can make.
Describing the Winkler Chamber Board, Froese says they’re a group of people that come from a broad range of experiences and backgrounds, and are people who all have a common desire to work for, and promote, the business community in the Winkler area.
Going forward, Froese says they want the Chamber to be relevant. "So, when people in the business community ask us what is the Chamber doing for us? We want to be able to answer that, and have tangible things they see us doing for them to promote their business, and their interests, and to connect them with the networking events, programming that we can provide, seminars, and different things, and listen to their voices as well. Engage with them and see what the needs are across the business community."
Agreeing with the sentiments of outgoing President Keith Gislason, Froese says the business community in Winkler is one that has homemade solutions, adding you don't need to go outside of the community to get things done. Froese says the never give up attitude that exists among the business community is a huge reason the area's population and business community continues to grow.
"(It) definitely makes it easier, because the ideas come from the business community, and they usually run with it, and there's so much momentum here that it's very easy to work with, and to sometimes just watch it happen, it's encouraging."